FWIW, no one should feel the need to put their safety on the line for the benefit of their corporate overlords, for a number of reasons.

1. The obvious point of you potentially getting hurt. The company doesn't want that because they could get sued. So they tell you not to intervene to cover their ass.

2. The chance of the other person getting hurt. The company doesn't want that because they could get sued. And they'll blame it on you because you were told not to intervene.

3. The possibility that you are simply wrong. You think you saw someone shoplift, but what if they didn't? You just assaulted a random person.

4. Basic fucking human decency. If someone is stealing food of all things, why would you feel the need to intervene? It's not your loss, it's the company's. If the company wants to do something about it, they can figure that part out themselves.

If you see someone stealing food... No you didnt. Move on.

Rule number one: If you see someone shoplifting food, no you didn’t.

so she knew the store policy, decided to ignore it, has known this person has taken food in the past but doesn't call the police and have them trespass, and for some reason thinks she owes the company what? something? to tackle a person taking food?

no sympathy here. who cares if someone takes food? does anyone who work retail honestly get paid enough to care? and if you do care then there's something painfully wrong with you. I worked retail some 20+ years ago and even then I didn't give a flying fuck if someone took something from where ever I was working. I wasn't be paid enough to care I barely made more than minimum wage. the only people who cared were managers and LP cause they were paid enough to care.

GOOD

Fuck that former employee

You aren't being stolen from, a company is.

You aren't losing money, the company is

You don't gain anything by interfering, the company does

You don't get rewarded, you have rewarded the company (assuming you stop the theft)

YOU DON'T MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO CARE ABOUT SHOPLIFTERS

I don't care how much you make. You don't make enough.

If you, as someone with a lower quality of life (relative to the rich) than a medieval peasant and who definitely doesn't have the money to take care of potential medical bills thy arise from a potential altercation.

I cannot fathom caring so much about a company's profits that I intervene in any shoplifting.

Note: when I worked for a sporting goods retailer, the ONLY thing I ever did was inform a manager when I believe someone was stealing ammo for a gun. Never gave a shit about clothing, food, or even sports equipment, but in my opinion there's very few reasons to steal firearm ammunition, almost none of them involve a needy person who will use them for benefit.

If you see someone shoplifting, especially from a company, no you fucking didn't

Why would you even risk yourself for a company who doesn't give a shit about you? Observe and report is the absolute maximum you should do even if you are allowed to physically intervene.

All the people in this thread saying shoplifters should be confronted. No amount of theft is worth my life, or your's. Shops have cameras. Call the police.

Then, fix the underlying problems in society. I know that is hard work, but we as a society need to stop abandoning our responsibility to make this world a better place for everyone.

Never ever do anything to stop shoplifters or robbers.

1. Because they could be brandishing a deadly weapon
2. You aren't paid enough to stop them, let alone intervene in any way
3. If you were paid enough to stop them, you're paid more than enough to let them get away and not feel any pain from it.

It sounds like she gave a poor rashernale.

Good, fuck em for snitching

Yeah, yeah, she shouldn't have done it. But, it was wrong to fire her over it. I agree with the union rep, a warning would have been enough.

If she made a decision this poor and reckless, I think it’s safe to assume that she has made other terrible decisions in the past and would make more in the future. I’d like to know how her coworkers feel about the situation.

Sacks for everyone! I feel like the title is trying to be witty. The caffeine hasn't kicked in yet... so I'll quietly hope someone can bag a better title for us.

Fun aside: as someone already observed - its not worth chasing down someone for retail theft. Theres insurance, shrink is factored into running costs, and you could get hurt or sued... or both. Also, while it sucks to look at it this way... if someone is stealing food... they probably needed it.

The lesson here is never ever bother with shoplifters. If somebody is stealing from the store you work at, let them. No company deserves your loyalty.